Ben Foster: Joleon Lescott is vital for Albion

Goalkeeper Ben Foster today underlined Joleon Lescott's value to West Brom after his stunning debut at Tottenham.

The former Wolves, Everton and Manchester City star was Man of the Match in the Baggies' 1-0 win at White Hart Lane and Foster is convinced his mere presence in the side gives team-mates a lift.

Lescott, 32, has played at the very top with England and won titles with City and the Albion shot-stopper believes his influence could be key for Baggies in the months ahead.

Foster said: "A lot of lads spark off Joleon. He has got that bit of an aura about him. All the lads around him raise their game when he's there.

"Fair play to 'Joe', the way he read the game on Sunday was absolutely incredible. His vision is fantastic and it's nice to have players like that in front of you.

"We saw it with Craig Dawson as well, he was heading, kicking, blocking and everything. He was absolutely top class as well."

West Brom boss Alan Irvine – to the surprise of many supporters – has stuck with Dawson despite a summer of uncertainty surrounding the 24-year-old.

Burnley were keen to sign the centre-half but Albion rejected their advances and he has been an ever-present this season, despite Gareth McAuley sitting on the sidelines.

And Foster was happy with his centre-halves as they shut-out Spurs, saying: "Joleon has been unlucky.

"He's had a few little knocks and injuries and when you don't get a good pre-season under your belt it can set you back a few weeks and, in Joleon's case, a good month really.

"He's been eager to get back in the starting line-up and he did himself no harm on Sunday with that performance, which was absolutely fantastic.

"If him and Daws are going to play like that every weekend it will help us no end. It was good to get off the mark with a win as well.

"If we hadn't won that, Burnley would have been a huge game, but we can take a lot of confidence from this going into Burnley now."

The England goalkeeper has been frustrated by Albion's slow start but is keen to remind the critics that they're not that far away from reaching top form.

And he is highlighting Irvine's meticulous planning as one of the reasons behind the Baggies' revival.

Foster said: "I think we've had periods this season when we've played some good football and things just haven't gone our way, but on Sunday we were fantastic from start to finish.

"We knew exactly what we were going to do. We watched a lot of videos of Tottenham and how they play.

"In their game against Queens Park Rangers last week for example, they were flying out of the blocks quickly and were up to speed in no time.

"So we knew what to expect but, fair play to the lads in front of me, especially the two centre-backs, because they were great. The gaffer has come in and been absolutely fantastic.

"All of the lads have bought into his ideas and he is a very personable guy. He gets on very well with everybody and everybody is really happy for him, now we have got this result.

"It's like it's a bit of a monkey off his back."

Albion began Sunday with the unenviable position of being bottom of the Premier League.

However, three points later, they find themselves level with Manchester United in the table – a clear indicator that the season is only five games old.

And with social media and radio phone-ins offering fuel to the fire, Foster believes any extra supporter pressure on Irvine is unwarranted.

The shot-stopper said: "It's ridiculous. You see little murmurs sometimes and you don't know where they come from.

"The lads have always put in everything for the gaffer and he's been absolutely fantastic. It's nice to have somebody who we are all on the same page with.

"He tells us what to do and we all buy into it, believe in it and put it into practice. We've had a hard week's training and we've put things into practice."